Kerry calls for end to conflicts in Syria and Yemen

US Secretary of State John Kerry has called for efforts to end the conflicts in Syria and Yemen, a senior US State Department official says.

According to Press TV, Kerry arrived in Saudi Arabia on Friday and met top Saudi Arabian officials, including Saudi King Salman as well as the kingdom's crown prince, deputy crown prince and foreign minister at a military base outside Hafr al-Batin.

"Secretary Kerry emphasized that now is the time to keep moving forward toward ending the conflicts in Syria and Yemen," the US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told reporters.

Saudi Arabia has been under criticism for sponsoring terrorist groups in Syria and attacking Yemen, martyring many innocent people and destroying numerous residential areas and other infrastructures there.

In Syria, foreign-backed militancy, which began in March 2011, has resulted in the death of over 470,000, according to the Syrian Center for Policy Research.

The US has been leading a campaign of airstrikes in the Arab country, claiming the attacks target ISIL positions.

Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia announced that it was ready to send Special Forces to Syria if the US-led coalition decides to send ground troops.

On Sunday, Saudi Prince Turki al-Faisal said Riyadh believed that the US-led airstrikes alone could not defeat the Takfiri group in the war-torn country.

The kingdom has sent Turkey a number of warplanes which took part in a joint military exercise there, claiming that the move was in line with the so-called fight against ISIL Takfiri terrorists in Syria.